Fire-escape.



1). HEATH.

FIRE ESCAPE. v APPLIUATION I'ILED M AY 11 1911.

- Patented Sept. 12,1911.

WWW:

DELIA HEATH; or New YORK, n. Y.

FiR'E-EscArE.

spaific'aaoaarieaa Patent.

PatentedSept. 12, 1911.

Application fil-ed'May- 11, 191i SeiialNb. seams;

Z '0 all whom itmag concern:-

Be it known'that I, DELIA HEATH, a ci'ti zen of the United States, and'aresident of" the borough of Manhattan, city, countyfand First: All-thefire escape apparatus isdis-j posed upon the roof of the building out ofsight and yet available for-instant use from the windows of any of thefloors below. Second: The apparatus is largely automatic in operation,so that no skill or experience in its manipulation is required. Third:Such number of the apparatus as are desired may be installed upon theroof ofthe building, so that in whatever part thereof the fire occurs,or other impending danger about to take place, the apparatus at a pointremote therefrom may be utilized instead 'of' those' adjacent to thethreatening danger. Fourth The apparatus is'simple and strong in construction, having a life or duration approximating that of the buildingitself: Fifth:

After the fire has been extinguished, or other danger averted,the-apparatusmay be'readily returned to its original position upon the rroof of the building, ready for a second use and so on indefinitely.

In the drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a sectional view of a building andone of my fire escapes upon the roof thereof folded and inclosed withinits protecting box or casing; Fig. 2 illustrates a view similar to Fig.1, the apparatus having been projected ready for use; Fig. 3 illustratesa plan view of that which is shown in Fig. 1, the cover of the box orcasing which contains the appara.

tus being open; Fig. 4: illustrates an elevation of a building showingthe apparatus as hanging ready for use in front of one tier of windows.

Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the building, 2 the rooftimbers, 3 the cornice, 4 the box or casing in which the apparatus isprotected against the elements, 5 the lid therefor, 6 a dynamoelectrically operated, 7 a gear wheel actuated by the dynamo, 8 a crankon the shaft of the gear wheel 7, 9

anarm'connecting the crank with a. similar crank 10, 11 represents whatI call the ladderprojecting lever fa'st upon a shaft 12 to Whichthe arm10 islikewise fixed, 13 is a support for the shaft 12, 14; the links orplates which'constitute the fire escape ladder. They are pivotedtogether by cross bars or 'run'gs 15 in such manner that each pair oflinks may be readily folded back and forth as shown-in Fig. 1. The lastpair of links at the top'of the ladder as shown in Fig. 2 isprovidedwith a pair of anchor bars 16 rigidly fastened 'to an eye-bolt orequivalent supporting device 17 attached to the roof of the building.

18 is a roller supported upon brackets which are attached to the corniceas shown. The roller revolves upon a shaft 20. In the casings of thewindows on each floor of the building, which lie immediately below thefire escape apparatus on the roof, or at such other place upon eachfloor of the building, as may vbe-preferred, I arrange electricalconnections shown in Fig. 1, in which 21 is a circuitcloser of somesuitableconstruction and 22, 23 are the circuit wires whereby current issupplied to and cut off from the dynamo 6 in a manner well understood.

In Fig. 4 I show at 24 one of the links 15 having a laterally projectingend adapted to engage with the end of the arm 11. This is a convenientmethod in which to engage these parts of the apparatus, because itsimplifies the operation of coiling the ladder within its casing andassures the engagement of the projecting arm with the ladder at theproper place, to effect the results described.

The construction of the apparatus having been described, its method ofoperation is as follows: The folding ladder is made of sufficient lengthto reach from the cornice of the building to or nearly to the ground, orto such other point as may afford safe escape. The ladder projectinglever 11 is during the folding of the ladder within its casing 4 sodisposed as that it shall lie beneath such number of the pairs of linksconstituting the ladder as that when they are thrown overboard, theirweight will compel the remaining pairs of links likewise to gooverboard, the revolving roller 18 across which the ladder is thrownaiding in this operation, so that the ladder will automatically be drawnfrom its casing or box 4 and de scend across the face of the buildingand in front of the appropriate tier of windows as shown in Figs. 2 and4. Should the fire or other casualty occur, the occupants of any floorin the building will hasten to the place where the electrical apparatusis located and then operating the push button or switch, whatever itsconstruction may be, current will be supplied to the motor, which willbe transmitted from it to the gear wheel 7 and thence through the cranksand arms 8, 9, 10 and 11, and the upper part of the fire escape ladderwill be lifted from the box and projected over the cornice, as shown inFig. 2. The parts of the ladder which have thus been thrown overboardwill have sufficient weight to compel the remainder of the ladder tofollow them until finally the last pair of links will be drawn acrossthe cornice, as shown in Fig. 2, being securely held there by theconfining links 16 and eye-bolts l7 and the outwardly projecting endsthereof will be safely supported by the roller 18. The occupants of theseveral floors across the windows of which the ladder hangs may nowreadily escape by opening the windows, grasping the ladder anddescending upon it. After the danger has passed, unless, as may be thecase, in the event of a conflagration, the roof has been so far injuredas to destroy the box or casing, etc., the fire escape ladder may beagain drawn up and coiled away within the box by dropping a rope ofsuitable length (not shownslnce it constitutes no essential part of thisinvention) from the roof to or nearly to the end of the ladder, whichbeing attached to any suitable part thereof, the ladder may be readilydrawn up again and stowed away in the box ready for a second use. 7 j VI prefer to arrange the apparatus in such manner that the action of theladder proj ecting lever will be vigorous, so as to surely project thesections of the ladder which are above it over the cornice and likewiseso as to throw the lid of the casing over backward as illustrated inFig. 2.

It will be obvious to those who are famile iar with such matters thatthe details of construction shown in the drawings need 7 not necessarilybe followed; that is to say, the ladder may be made much narrower thanas shown in Figs. 3 and 4; the special construction of the ladderprojecting arms 11 and the parts co-acting therewith may be difierent;also instead of using a dynamo as the power to actuate this arm, anyequivalent power, as for instance, a system of levers actuated by alever suitably located upon the floors of the building, may be employed;also to reduce the weight of the apparatus the links 14: and the crossbars or rungs 15 may be made wholly or partly of wood suitably treatedto render them noninflammable. If for any reason the electric or otherladder projecting apparatus should get out of order, any one going onthe roof may throw the free end of the ladders overboard, so that theywill thereafter adjust themselves in the manner described.

I claim:

1. A fire escape comprising a folding ladder made in rigid sectionspivotally connected together, devices whereby one end of the ladder ispermanently attached to the roof of the building, means to throw a partof the ladder from the roof over the cornice of the building, a casingfor said above recited parts and means to electrically actuate saidladder projecting means from the floors below the roof.

2. A fire escape comprising a folding ladder made in rigid sectionspivoted together, devices whereby one end of the ladder is permanentlyattached to the roof of the building, electrically operated powerdevices adapted to engage with the ladder when partly folded and whenactuated to throw a part of the ladder over the cornice of the building,and circuit wires with appropriate circuit closing devices located onthe several floors of the building, whereby said electrical powerdevices may be actuated.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

- DELIA HEATH. Witnesses:

PHILLIPS ABBOTT, T. M. DAUSBACH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0.

